Neil Armstrong

If you were told to think of a hero, who would you choose? Many people would say a famous speaker, or maybe a movie star. But there are heroes that everyone forgets to idolize. There are heroes that do more than star in movies or give moving speeches. One of those heroes is Neil Armstrong. He accomplished something that had never been believable before. Neil was the very first man to set foot on the moon.

Neil Alden Armstrong was an average child. He was born on August 15th, 1930 in Auglaize County, Ohio and was the oldest of three children. Neil's interest for aircraft became obvious at age 6, when he would make model airplanes and shoot them off in his backyard. He would spend weeks perfecting his models, only to watch them fly a few meters and plummet to the ground. But Armstrong's determination persisted and at age sixteen he received his pilot license.

For the majority of his adult life Armstrong was a pilot. He flew 78 combat missions and hardly ever got a break from the grueling job. He had never taken any interest in being an astronaut until he was contacted by NACA (National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics). He was chosen as one of the first three people to pilot an X-15 Rocket-engine plane. Neil took seven flights in the plane and became a record holder on how far he could travel in it.

After becoming one of the best pilots in the world, Armstrong was invited cordially by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) to join their team. Neil considered the job for a while, but eventually accepted. He was immediately happy with his decision. Armstrong was chosen to co-pilot an experimental flight assignment titled Gemini 5. The trip went well and Neil was later asked to pilot a new and improved space-ship called the Gemini 8. As the ship took off all was well, but after docking with a separate orbiting vehicle, things went haywire. Armstrong tried desperately to fix the ship. He eventually detached, gained re-control of the plane, and landed it safely on Earth; only 1.1 miles from the landing zone.

Neil went on to become a professional pilot, and was asked to fly an experimental aircraft titled Apollo 11. Apollo was supposedly to go in orbit around the moon. Armstrong was asked to walk on the moon. Most people believed that the spaceship would crash or something would go terribly wrong, but on July 16th, 1969 history was made. Neil Armstrong became the very first man to walk on the moon. And the World was astonished.

Neil went on to become a college professor and traveling speaker. He has a museum named after him and most everyone knows his name. Sadly, on August 25th, 2012, Neil Armstrong was pronounced dead at 82. He has shaped our nation and changed the history of space exploration and he will forever be a hero